The present invention relates to improvements in a sidechannel compressor.
Conventional side-channel compressors, an example of which is shown in the German patent No. 2,713,091, generally comprise at least a housing, a rotor closely mounted within the housing and means for rotatably driving the rotor within the housing. More s specifically, the rotor comprises a central hub portion and an outer blade ring which extends laterally beyond at least one side of the hub portion in the axial direction. The housing extends laterally below the at least the one extension of the blade ring so as to define a relatively narrow radial gap between the lateral extension of the blade ring and lateral extension of the housing.
Given the purpose of the compressor, it is obviously advantageous to dimension the radial gap between the blade ring extension and the housing extension as narrowly as possible. However, the present inventor has discovered that the narrow dimension of this radial gap can lead to problems when the side-channel compressor is used in transporting gases loaded with dust. In particular, dust can be deposited and accumulate in the radial gap between the base of the lateral extension of the blade ring and the upper surface of the extension of the housing. The problem is particularly prevalent when a sticky or moist dust is involved. Over time, the radial gap will become completely clogged with dust thereby creating large friction forces which could eventually block the rotor or prevent restarting the rotor after an intermission in the operation.